Should You Floss While Wearing Braces?

As you may already know, flossing is an important part of maintaining good oral health for everyone, because it removes plaque and food debris that cannot be dislodged with brushing. In this way, flossing helps to prevent gum disease and even tooth decay. What you may NOT know already is that flossing becomes even more critical when you or your child is in the middle of braces treatment.

Here are just a few of the reasons why flossing is so important when you’re wearing braces:

Flossing between braces can prevent tooth decay.

Your braces make it harder for your toothbrush to reach certain places on your teeth, and this means that bacteria and food debris can actually lodge itself into places of the mouth that it couldn’t before you had braces. By flossing regularly, you can remove those bacteria and food particles before they can cause problems.

Flossing prevents damage to your braces.

If you’ve recently paid for braces, you know they aren’t cheap, so you certainly want them to last throughout the course of your treatment. Unfortunately, if excess bacteria and sugar in the mouth aren’t cleaned away properly, they can actually lead to braces degradation – particularly in the adhesive that bonds each bracket to your teeth. Flossing can help eliminate this bacteria and sugar and reduce the risk of damage.

Flossing prevents gum disease.

Braces can actually encourage the onset of gum disease if you don’t take particular care to brush and floss your teeth properly. This is definitely not a problem you want to have, since gum disease can be painful, cause bleeding, and even rot your teeth down to the bone. By flossing carefully, you protect you gums in addition to your teeth and braces.

If you’re wearing braces, then you’re already working hard to gain your ideal smile. While taking the time to floss at least once a day may keep you in front of the bathroom mirror a little longer, that extra time and effort will pay off with huge rewards.

This information is not meant as medical advice. It is provided solely for educational purposes by Excellence in Orthodontics. To learn more about braces, Invisalign, or other orthodontic treatments, speak with your family’s orthodontist or with one of the highly skilled orthodontic specialists in our national database.